


Batteries Not Included

by ladydragon76



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Rating: PG - Freeform, character: blurr, character: ratchet, genre: action, genre: fluff, genre: humor, verse: idw, warning: canon- what canon?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 15:36:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3574773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Summary:</b> Blurr has no idea how this happened, but being only about a foot and a half tall is… interesting to say the least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Batteries Not Included

**Author's Note:**

> **‘Verse:** IDW  
>  **Series:** None  
>  **Rating:** PG  
>  **Characters:** Blurr, OC human, Ratchet  
>  **Warnings:** AU like holy wow.  
>  **Notes:** So this is based vaguely off a kinkmeme prompt. The request can be found **[here](http://tfanonkink.livejournal.com/11776.html?thread=14479616#t14479616) ** , though like I said, this is not quite what was asked for.

The bane of Blurr’s life after the war started was just how fast he burned through any chemical sedatives or pain blockers. In the racing circuit, his team -just like every other team worth their pay- had known how to spread out the drugs over time and keep him safely unconscious. Ratchet was Primus-sent because he understood Racer systems too, and neither under-dosed or overdosed Blurr- unlike every other medic the Racer had dealt with. The fact that Blurr was waking in a fair amount of pain told him that it wasn’t Ratchet’s snarky yet competent care he found himself under. Something that was quite worrying since the last thing he could recall was being in combat.

Blurr remained still, reaching out with all his senses other than sight. Proximity sensors seemed muted, but his hearing and olfactory worked fine. The air smelled… strange. He wasn’t exactly used to the funny, organic scents on Earth, but he had grown familiar with most of the undertones as they mixed with the Autobots’ base. He could hear odd things too. Sounds from outside were only slightly muffled. That was good, maybe he could break through flimsy walls and be away before his captors could stop him. There was also a surprising lack of electronic noise one would expect in a medbay, or even a cell. And was that a dog barking? Where was he that he could hear birds twittering?

A quick attempt proved that his comms were disabled, so were diagnostics. Blurr peeped open an optic, then the other. What he saw was… unexpected. There was no one nearby, but he appeared to be inside a very large, yet very _human_ dwelling space. Sitting up caused stiff joints to twang unpleasantly, and the dull ache spiked to a flare of pain that washed right across Blurr’s sensornet. He was on a table, four chairs surrounded it, and beside Blurr was an open toolbox. He recognized some of the bits from commercials on television. They were most definitely human, but then why were they so _big_?

Whatever this was, it couldn’t possibly be good. Blurr cycled his vents, braced for the flare of more pain, and made his way toward the closest chair. It was pulled out from the table just enough for him to jump down into the seat, and angled as though someone had been sitting in it and stood without pushing it back in when they left.

Frag. He didn’t have much time. Whoever it was, they were probably called away for something deemed important to leave a prisoner unattended, but they wouldn’t be gone long. Not with Blurr just there and unbound.

Heh. Idiots, whoever they were, and Blurr was really glad that his body broke down chemicals so fast just then.

He knelt at the edge of the table, careful, because an injury now -on top of the full body ache- would hurt his chances of escape. Blurr also didn’t want to make any noise. Whoever it was could be in the next room and within easy audio range. He shifted and sat on the very edge, foot reaching toward the chair to help gauge the distance better. It wasn’t a frightening drop by any means, and it even looked padded, so with a deep breath, the Racer hopped down. He let his weight continue forward, hands barely sinking into the dense seat cushion. Something was off, but then who knew what the slagger had done to him? His gyros were functioning properly, and so long as he had them, he would risk the speeds he was known for and escape. From chair to floor was a little farther, so Blurr flattened himself on his belly and slowly slid off the side until his feet touched a colorful and soft rug.

Now which way was out?

Blurr looked all around the room. It was day time -probably morning by the angle and quality of the light- though the single window had fabric drapes closed over it. It was too high up, and the Racer didn’t think it was open anyway. There were two doorways. One door was shut and the knob very much out of reach as well, but the other was just a rectangular arch. The floor was tiled beyond the rug, and Blurr moved as slowly as he could bear so the rubber-like grips on the bottom of his feet wouldn’t squeak.

So far, no new sounds reached him. It looked like the eating rooms most humans had on television. There were even pictures of Earth landscapes on the walls.

It was fragging creepy, Blurr decided. Just who would go to so much trouble to build a house in the human style, but so big that a Cybertronian felt diminutive? The room beyond the arch was even worse. It was the cooking room, and beyond the atrocious colors and odd smell, it was _too_ detailed. What if this was some experiment? What if whoever had done this was watching Blurr even now?

Blurr spotted the outside door and, with a last glance around, darted toward it. His spark was pounding in its crystal, but he made it across the room and to the exit without anything or anyone arriving to stop him. A dog barked again, closer this time, and that’s when the Racer noticed it. The door had a smaller door right there in front of him. He’d been looking up, unsure how to escape when he couldn’t reach the knob, but _this_ he could manage. It was just a plastic panel that… yes, it slid up and out of the side tracks.

With another look around behind him, Blurr crouched and pushed. He wouldn’t even need to lift it all the way up, and if he could then lower it back down from outside, his captor might not even know how he escaped. Assuming he wasn’t being monitored.

The plastic panel scraped, but the noise wasn’t all that loud. Blurr held it up with one hand, and looked out through the small gap he’d opened. There was another -disgustingly dirty- flap that had maybe once been clear, but was now yellowed and streaked in grime It curled outward and wasn’t locked into place in any way that the Racer could see. The dog barked again, and Blurr scowled. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to make this seem nothing more than it appeared. A human house with a human pet.

It was high time he made a break for it. If he was being watched, maybe they wouldn’t be prepared for just how fast Blurr could move. If they weren’t, then all the better.

The panel was nudged up more, and then Blurr reached out to push the heavy, rubbery flap outward as he stepped over the lip of the door. First one foot, then the next. He cringed, but let the flap rest against his back as he tugged the inside panel back down into place. The dog barked again and birds chirped. Somewhere incredibly close the sounds of an automobile drove by. Blurr edged out from under the flap and felt his lines go cold.

The trees were huge. Far too tall to be Earth trees, which he knew could grow to impressive heights, but this was something else. Flowers wobbled in the light breeze just off the porch the Racer now stood on. They were well over his head since the base of the plants were a few stairs lower still. This wasn’t right.

This was _impossible_.

Blurr flattened himself back against the wall. Where was that dog? If everything was this big-

No. No, he was this _small_!

Slag this. Blurr needed to get back to the Autobots and have Ratchet make him normal again. No way did he want to be smaller than those glitched, slagged up organics! He crept forward, his helm turning side to side and optics moving constantly. Information on his surroundings rapidly filtered through his processors and provided terrain, wind speed, and ambient temperatures all as his Racer’s spark began to spin up and drive energy into his systems. Blurr just wanted a clear exit to the street. Find the street and run. Get clear of his captor. He would work out his location and how to get back to base once he was sure he wasn’t being tracked or pursued.

There was a tall, wooden board type fence all around the area, but as Blurr inched his way to the steps, he saw a gate off to his left. It had a latch, but if he could knock the little bar up, it might open. He had enough space out here to get up a little speed too. He could make the jump.

He _would_ make the jump.

Blurr climbed down the stairs, optics locked on the gate’s latch. He backed up a little more, and when he thought he’d be able to get up the right speed, dashed forward. One knee came up, then the other. His toes left gouges in the wood, and Blurr flung his arms up, fingers curling over the top of the gate just as he lost momentum. For only an instant, he hung, then dragged himself up enough to hook one arm over the top and reach for the latch with his free hand. That was when luck abandoned him.

The dog’s barking sounded louder and closer, and Blurr dared a glance back. He met the black eyes of a fluffy white monstrosity, and his hand fumbled at the latch in an effort to shove it upward. The dog stared for a moment, seemingly confused over what it was seeing, then the barking took on a new, more frantic and aggressive tone just before it launched toward the miniaturized Racer. Blurr hissed a curse he’d learned from Drift and shoved harder at the latch.

Why the _frag_ wouldn’t it lift?!

Blurr cursed again and gave up with the latch. He was an idiot, that was the problem. He was already at the top of the gate, and no matter whether he went over or it opened, he was going to have an equally long drop back to the ground. He brought one knee up, optics on the dog, and shifted his weight over the top just as it leapt.

A yelp was startled out of Blurr as the dog slammed against the gate and he went flying. He tucked, then dove hands first toward the ground, rolling as he struck the grass. It was graceless at best, but as he hurried to his feet he checked himself over for dents and damage. Nothing flagged, and beyond that same ache that was actually beginning to fade some, Blurr wasn’t in pain. The dog was making an impossible ruckus on the other side of the fence, so he needed to get out of there before someone came looking to see what was going on.

The street was right there beyond a short, dark asphalt driveway. There were some cars parked here and there in front of other houses, and trees lined the grassy space between the uneven squares of sidewalk and road. Blurr moved closer, audials tuned to any human voices raised in surprise or anger, but before he even reached the road the dog stopped barking. That could be bad, the Racer thought.

But then it was worse. No one had come to hush the creature. No, it sailed over the gate, dark eyes spotting Blurr before it even landed. So much for carefully choosing a direction.

Blurr took off like a bullet from a gun, feet flying over the soft ground, then the dark driveway, and finally onto the rough sidewalk. The dog was a noisy terror on his heels, and the Racer pushed as fast as he dared with the way the cement was cracked and pushing at odd angles. Each square was just a little different from the one before. This one was sloped toward the street. That one up there sloped up away from Blurr. The one beyond it was angled down. There was one with a yellow flower growing from a crack in the middle.

The end of the block came up quickly, and Blurr leaned forward, put on speed, and prayed to any god willing to help him that there were no cars coming. He flew off the curb, shot over the two lanes, and leapt up onto the sidewalk all without slowing. The dog’s barking was growing farther away, but it was still following, and Blurr couldn’t risk looking back. When the block ended this time, he dumped enough speed to take the corner and followed it to the left. There was some noise ahead, but no cars, so he angled across the street and into another yard. A quick duck beneath a flowering bush, and Blurr sprinted up the incline and around the side of the house.

This yard had a gate as well, but it was thankfully already open. One fast look back proved the dog wasn’t chasing him anymore, and Blurr slipped behind the fence.

The little side path opened out into a large, enclosed space, dominated primarily by a sparkling, turquoise pool. On the other side sat an outbuilding. Storage? Blurr didn’t know, but the doors were open and a large, white vehicle was parked just in front of it.

“Jan! Are you ready?” a man shouted, startling Blurr into dropping flat to the ground by the corner of the house. A woman’s muffled voice came from inside, and then three younglings stomped out the back door and hurried past the man, shouting at one another.

Jan, or at least that’s who Blurr assumed her to be, exited last and offered the man a smile as she lifted a large bag. “Extra towels and sunblock.”

The man smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Yeah, yeah. No lobster man this time. Get in the truck. We’re already leaving later than I wanted to.”

“Not my fault you don’t tan,” Jan laughed.

Blurr edged forward, sticking to the shadow of the house, and watched them follow the younglings into truck. It was then that he noticed that behind the truck a boat was hitched up. Somewhere close by a dog barked, and that was more than enough to spur Blurr into action. He hurried across the yard, hoping that no one would notice him as they prepared to leave. The engine turned over, and the Racer ran straight under the boat. He crouched lower as the vehicle rolled forward, and once clear, grabbed the back of the trailer and hauled himself up. The boat bounced over the end of the driveway, rocking side to side as the man turned out onto the street, and Blurr couldn’t help a laugh as he looked back.

The fluffy white monstrosity spotted him and gave chase, but as the truck gained speed, it had no hope of catching up. Blurr gave himself a moment to enjoy the sense of victory, then carefully pulled himself up over the back end of the boat. He crawled under a tarp wadded up on the floor of it, and waited. There was no telling where these humans were going, but it was away from whoever captured him, and that was good enough for now.

It was a few hours later when the wind and noise from the road eased up. Blurr stayed under the tarp and listened.

“… there in about two hours, but we need to get gas, buddy,” the man was saying as he opened the truck door. “We just need some gas.”

“I’ll take them all in,” the woman said. “I could use a potty break myself.”

“Grab me a coke?”

“’Kay.”

Truck doors opened and slammed shut, and Blurr peeked out from under the tarp. The man stood with his back against the truck, whistling along to the music as he pumped gas. This was as good as anywhere to trade transportation, the Racer thought, and crawled slowly out from under his cover. His gaze darted around, but returned to the man every few seconds. The gas station wasn’t terribly large or busy, but there were other people around, and he didn’t want to be seen. Blurr waited until the pump stopped, then while the human was occupied with putting the nozzle back, he jumped up and flipped himself over and out of the boat. He hung from his fingers where he had climbed in earlier, then dropped down.

Blurr snuck another look around as he scurried under the trailer, but no one seemed to have noticed him. He couldn’t imagine how unobservant these humans were, but he was glad for it. Now to pick his next target.

There was another, smaller truck just on the other side of the pumps from Blurr. Another man was stepping out of it, head down as he dug into the brown square in his hand and came up with one of the slim cards humans used for currency. Waiting until the younglings and woman were back in and the doors shut, Blurr darted out from under the trailer, over the small platform of concrete, and under the his new ride. This vehicle was lower, which forced Blurr to his hands and knees, but he managed to crawl past the man’s legs and just below the open door.

Still cautious of anyone seeing him, Blurr edged out to look around, then kept his optics on the new human he was hitching a ride with as he stood. One quick hop and a grab for the safety belt, and the Racer was in. He squeezed behind the single bench type seat, and found a spot for himself on a hank of rope next to a red metal toolbox. It was dusty and gross, but Blurr promised himself a nice long scrub once he was finally home. He was hours away from his captor, and about to be even farther.

The seat springs creaked, and Blurr scrambled for something to hold onto as the door banged shut and the truck was started. This trip wasn’t nearly as long and full of far more starts, stops, and turns. Blurr bit back a curse as the truck lurched to a final stop and his helm smacked the back of the seat. He wasn’t as lucky this time with the door, and it slammed shut before he could even struggle to his feet. Something banged about in the bed of the truck, and the Racer stood enough to try and peek out the back window. He quickly ducked back down as the man leaned over to pull another toolbox out with his other hand.

After a few moments of silence, Blurr looked again. The man was gone, and his surroundings were completely different. The houses were closer together, but larger than the place he had escaped from. Things were more uniform, the road unlined and not at all as worn and old. Blurr checked all around, then climbed onto the little red toolbox and over the back of the seat.

It was strange to be _inside_ a vehicle that honestly wasn’t all that much larger than he _should_ be, but Blurr shook off the sense of incongruence and walked over to the door. The man hadn’t locked it, and the Racer was able to pull the inside handle easily enough to unlatch it. Pushing it open was more of a chore, but soon enough -and with no one the wiser- he was on the smooth, pale concrete of the driveway.

Afternoon seemed to be settling in with a bright sun blazing above, and Blurr decided to hide until dark. It was really quiet here, but he didn’t want to risk being seen after having such a successful escape. Besides, most humans he had dealt with weren’t friendly or trustworthy. Even if whoever did this to him didn’t find him, someone else might turn him in to their government, and Blurr knew he wouldn’t escape them so easily. Not this small.

Blurr tucked himself in against the side of the next house over in a shady spot between the stucco wall and a bushy tangle of green plants. The ground was rocky and uncomfortable, but he couldn’t see out, so if Primus was with him, then maybe no one would see him either.

~

Not too long before sunset, the neighborhood became busy. Cars and people arrived home, children shouted, and the very alien smells of organic food cooking filled the air all around Blurr. He cycled his vents and blew out with a huff. Combined with the dirt and dust and green plants, the food made his olfactory sensors itch. Night came slowly in his boredom and desire to get moving, but even after dark, it seemed like the humans remained active. Somewhere close by people were outside, laughing and talking. Blurr winced at a particularly high pitched scream from a youngling.

Unable to make himself wait any longer, Blurr climbed out from behind the plant and carefully worked his way from shadow to shadow toward the street. For the moment, the Racer was glad for his small size as the sparse plants that grew in the front lawn weren’t very tall themselves. Scant cover, and Blurr froze when he heard a noise just behind him.

“Whoa…”

_Slag!_

“What are you?” a youngling asked. It was close to three times Blurr’s height and tromped across the ground before just reaching out and grabbing the Racer. “Wow!”

Blurr blinked up at its round face and wide eyes, and wondered why the slag he hadn’t just _run_. Sure, he didn’t seem to have the speeds he should, but there was a certain logic to that since his legs were shorter now. He still could have out-distanced this single youngling and disappeared before any mature humans came out to see what had it so excited.

“Are you alive?” the youngling asked.

“Devon?” a woman called before Blurr could be stupid again and answer. “Your mom says it’s time to go in and clean up for bed.”

“Auntie Kari! Look what I found!” The youngling turned Blurr in its hands and thrust him out toward the woman.

“Oh wow. Devon!” she cried when the youngling jerked Blurr out of her reach.

“I’m gonna keep him!”

“You absolutely can’t,” Auntie Kari said. “That’s an amazing custom job for a toy. Someone’s going to want him back really bad. Where’d you find him?”

“ _My_ yard.”

“Hand it over.” The woman stuck out her hands, and Blurr wasn’t sure whether he wanted the youngling to obey or not.

“Kari!” it whined, but before a real argument could start, Blurr saw the front door open behind Kari and a man leaned out.

“Come on, Devon. Tell your auntie bye, and get your butt in here. Bath and bed, little man.”

Devon sighed, held Blurr out to Kari, and sulked his way to the front door. “I never get anything cool.”

Kari tucked Blurr in against her side and held onto him with one arm while lifting the other in farewell to the man at the door. “I’ll see you guys next weekend.”

“Yeah, drive safe, sis!” the man called back, then the door shut, and Blurr was left alone, hanging in the grip of a strange adult.

Custom toy, Kari had said, and Blurr grasped after that. He would act the part and lull her into just leaving him lying somewhere, then escape before morning. Before she knew it, he’d be long gone.

“Man, someone must’ve spend a mint on you,” Kari said, holding Blurr up to inspect him a bit as she walked over to her car. The passenger door was opened, and the Racer was placed on the seat and even buckled in. “It’s pretty late, or I’d try to find your owner. They’re just going to have to wait until tomorrow though.”

Blurr sat where he was placed, but didn’t stop himself from watching the woman as she walked around the front of her car and got in behind the steering wheel.

“Gods, you’re cute.” Kari reached over and poked Blurr’s nose with a giggle, then started the car. Blurr blinked. He had no idea how to respond to such a thing. Cute he got. He was a damn few shades past cute, actually, but the nose poke was beyond his ken. “Little dirty though. We’ll have to clean you up a little before I crash. How long have you been outside?”

Blurr stared at her even as she glanced down at him as though really expecting a response.

“Hm,” Kari said. “Ok, you’ve got to have some fancy programming, so how far’s it go? Can you talk?” Another glance as they pulled onto a wider street. “Name? Uh… Designation? What’s your designation, little robot?”

Blurr scowled at the term ‘robot’, but quickly blanked his face. In as monotone a voice as he could manage, he said, “Blurr.” Then blinked in shock. Holy fragging Primus! Was that _his_ voice?!

Kari squealed and giggled in utter delight. “Oh my god!”

Blurr endured the woman’s jabbering, and in truth, it wasn’t all that difficult. She was fascinated by him and thought he was some custom built not-really-a-toy robot modeled after those alien robots that no one was supposed to know were on Earth and causing trouble all over the planet. The Racer wanted to protest that it was the Decepticons causing the problems, but he decided to only answer direct questions. It was easier that way, and Kari seemed more than happy to fill the silence herself.

Once to her home, Kari unbuckled Blurr and lifted him and a bag that had been inside the car already. The car’s horn honked as an alarm was set, and Blurr forced himself not to squirm as he was tucked under the woman’s arm. He felt like he was going to be dropped any moment, and it was very hard not to grasp at her. Keys jangled, and Blurr was squeezed a bit as she got the door unlocked and open. Thank fragging Primus that humans were mostly squishy.

“Home, sweet home,” Kari sighed. “Damn, I didn’t mean to stay so late over there.” She dropped her bag on a sofa, flicked on the lights, then lifted Blurr up so their faces were level. “Then again, I guess I’m glad I did. Don’t think your owner would have wanted you becoming Devon’s newest chew toy. I love my nephew, but damn that kid’s rough on his stuff.” She shook her head, and after locking the door, carried the Racer into the cooking room.

Blurr sat where he was placed on the counter beside the sink, and watched as Kari opened a drawer for a cloth. It was dampened, and then Blurr found himself on the receiving end of a wipe-down that was almost _too_ gentle.

“Wow. You’ve had some adventures in the great outdoors, haven’t you?” Kari asked as she finally used a bit more pressure in wiping away the grime. She babbled on as she cleaned Blurr’s plating, at least until he beeped in surprise as his legs were lifted by the ankles. He fell to his back and struggled before remembering he shouldn’t. “Oops. Sorry about that.”

The Racer let himself be righted by the human, and sat still as she studied him.

“Hmm. Well, it’s late, and I have work in the morning, so I guess that’ll have to do for now.” Kari lifted Blurr from the counter. “Now how do I turn you off? I really don’t need you breaking before I can find your owner.”

Blurr was carried to the bedroom and placed in a cushioned chair that rocked a bit as Kari’s knee nudged against it.

“Blurr. Off.”

Blurr blinked at her. No, that command was too easy. What if she said ‘off’ for some other reason? He’d need to drop like he’d been shut down.

“Uh… Power off. Blurr. Power off,” Kari said with very clear enunciation.

Blurr decided to move this along. He leaned forward and made to crawl _off_ the chair.

“Whoa! Ha ha. Ok, um…” Kari lifted Blurr and put him back where he’d been. “How about… Deactivate.”

Oh, that was a horrible word, but the human before him couldn’t know what it meant to Cybertronians. Blurr powered off his optics, then let the shutters close.

“Activate,” Kari said, and the Racer blinked up at her in confusion. Oh wait. She was testing the ‘voice commands’, wasn’t she? Primus help him. “Gods, you are _so_ cool. Ok, Blurr. Bedtime. Deactivate.”

Blurr grit his teeth, powered down his optics, then shut them again. He let his body slowly relax back into the cushioning, and listened, straining his sensors, as the woman moved away and did whatever it was humans did to prepare for recharge.

His day must have been more taxing than he thought, because recharge truly did claim him before Kari even climbed into her bed.

~ | ~

Once Kari left the house, Blurr climbed off the rocking chair and hurried to the front door. It was locked, of course, but before he worried over escape, he wanted to find out where he was. It took a little climbing, but the Racer finally managed to get up into the front room’s window. What Blurr saw made him frown. It was strikingly similar to the place he had escaped from, but that couldn’t be right. That was _hours_ via expressway from here. Wasn’t it? It had to be because the houses weren’t really the same, and neither were the cars parked in front of them, but the age of the neighborhood matched up. All the plants had a maturity to them. Tall trees had dug their roots under the sidewalk pavers, pushing them up at odd angles and cracking them. There was a grassy line between street and sidewalk. The paint on most of the houses looked older, chipped and faded. It wasn’t the same street, but it looked close enough to it, and that alone was enough to make Blurr hesitant.

Going out in the daylight wasn’t really that wise anyway. Better that he use this opportunity to find out where he was, where he needed to go, and then rest so he could sneak out during the night while Kari slept.

Figuring out Kari’s human computer took a little doing. It certainly wasn’t as intuitive as a Cybertronian machine, and it didn’t seem to have voice command capabilities at all. Just turning it on was an adventure, but then getting the hang of the mouse -especially with such tiny hands- was a pain in the aft. By the time Blurr accidentally located the browser for the World Wide Web, he was ready to just leave and figure it out as he walked.

He did have a spot of luck and a popup informed him that it was eighty-two degrees Fahrenheit in San Bernardino. The caves the Autobots had made a home of were part of the Carlsbad system, and after some more poking and search attempts the Racer finally discovered that he was only about a fifteen hour drive from home with the current traffic. He closed everything down and then powered off the computer, hoping that whatever traces he left behind weren’t anything the woman would think to look for. It was her computer after all, and she was the only one here.

Or was she? Perhaps there was another, but that person was also out?

Blurr explored the house, partly to be certain there wasn’t another human sleeping somewhere -there wasn’t- but mostly in an effort to find an easy escape route. Once Kari was asleep, he would need to be quiet. That meant no moving things around in the dark and possibly making a noise that would wake the woman. There was a back door, but it had a doorknob lock, deadbolt, _and_ slide bar, the last of which was too high for Blurr to reach even when he stood on the kitchen counter and leaned out to the side.

The house itself wasn’t terribly large. Kari had her bedroom, and through one door was a wash room, and through a second door on the other side of that was another room. Boxes piled against one wall and on a table. There was a chair, but it was buried beneath fabrics that didn’t seem to be anything. It was a mess, and Blurr couldn’t get to the window to see if he could slip out of it. Kari’s bedroom windows were out too. One was above the woman’s head when she was sleeping, and the other wasn’t something Blurr could reach without trying to push the weird, rocking chair over beneath. Too risky, and that was assuming he could get it open. The wash room had a window, but it was tiny and up high. The Racer wasn’t even sure it opened.

Blurr ended up back in the main room and chewing his lip. As he looked around in defeat, keys rattled by the door, then grated as one was inserted into the lock.

Slag! She was home, and Blurr was in the middle of the floor!

He spun around and dashed back to Kari’s bedroom, but couldn’t seem to get the fragging chair to cooperate so he could get back into it. With a hissed curse, Blurr decided to pretend that sounds of activity had reactivated him. That would work. Pits, the human thought he was a frelling _toy_. How was she to know?

Blurr walked back out to the front room just as Kari entered her house and, just to be spiteful, said, “Greetings.”

“Oh my god!” Kari threw herself back against the wall, hand coming up to cover the center of her chest. Blurr blinked as innocently as he could, but really he wanted to fall over laughing. “Holy shit.” She remained against the wall for a moment, breath panting and eyes still a bit wide. “Ok. No more of that, you.” The bag was dropped on the sofa, and Blurr was scooped up. “What are you doing out here anyways?”

The Racer didn’t answer, but then Kari didn’t seem to be waiting for one. “What should we have for dinner, Blurr?” she asked and set him on the countertop before opening the refrigerator. She stared for a moment at the contents, mouth twisted to the side in an expression Blurr wasn’t sure how to label. Boredom, maybe? “Screw it. Quesadillas it is.”

Blurr listened to the one-sided conversation while watching in fascinated disgust as the woman prepared her meal. Luckily, Blurr wasn’t hungry yet, but before his escape he would need to see if he could even access his subspace. Running along the I-10 all night, once he reached it, would certainly drain his reserves even if he didn’t push for top speeds. His thoughts were interrupted by Kari lifting him and carrying both him and her plate out to the sofa.

“Whatcha wanna watch?” the woman asked after depositing Blurr on a cushion. He was then treated to a rambling critique of several sci-fi genre ‘classics’ while she mauled her food. A disc was finally chosen, and Kari plopped onto the couch only to lift him into her lap. He stared back as hands as big as his head ran over his body, raised one arm, then the next.

The Racer was being inspected, and he knew it.

“You are really something,” Kari said. Blurr was turned so that he faced away from her, and had to resist the urge to look back over his shoulder. One foot was lifted, thought he certainly didn’t need to worry about balancing. The woman held him securely even as her thumb stroked down the bottom of his foot. “Even got little treads. How freakin’ cute are you?” Blurr was turned again, and found himself the recipient of another long stare. “I meant to post about you today, but the office was so damn busy, I never got the chance. Guess I should do that now.”

Post? Blurr’s confusion was cleared up very quickly as Kari carried him over to her computer. _Post_ about him! Slag! What if whoever did this to him saw? Pits no. Luckily, the Racer was placed on the desk in a way that allowed him to watch exactly what the woman did. He memorized the sites and the codes and passwords she used. At least she was vague in her descriptions.

**Custom toy found, 4/6/14. Looks expensive. No reward needed, but you will need to clearly describe it before I’ll agree to meet.**

Kari stared at the screen for a moment before facing Blurr. “There. That’s for all of San Bernardino. Hopefully whoever lost you will be looking and we’ll get you home quickly.” She turned off the computer, then lifted Blurr. “So much for the movie, but I’m beat and have another long day tomorrow.” Blurr’s nose was poked as he was set down in the rocking chair. “Nighty night, Blurr. Deactivate.”

Blurr followed the routine, but this time recharge didn’t claim him. He couldn’t leave that ad up, so once Kari’s breathing evened out, the Racer slid off the chair and crept out of the room. He dared pull the door shut to just a crack so the light wouldn’t disturb the sleeping woman, then hurried to the computer. It was easier this time, and when the message flashed up asking if he was sure he wanted to delete the ad, he clicked ‘confirm’, then broke into Kari’s email to delete the notification.

The bedroom door creaked as he pushed it back open, and Blurr froze. Kari mumbled something and shifted on her bed, but settled again almost immediately. Blurr didn’t relax until he finally managed to time his hop right and sat back in the place the woman had put him before.

Maybe if he couldn’t get out of the house, he could reach the Autobots to come and get him? Blurr looked back out the door, but decided against risking it again tonight. He could get back on the computer when Kari was at work and not have to worry about her waking and catching him.

~ | ~

The only way Blurr could reach the front door locks was if he pushed the desk chair over to it, which he tried despite it being daylight. That proved impossible anyway, and the Racer wouldn’t risk the chair falling over. He could have flicked it across the house if he were the right size, but here he was, vents panting, limbs trembling from the exertion, and the chair had barely moved a few inches over the carpet. Pits, it wasn’t even far enough out from the desk for the woman to sit in it were she there.

Already damn frustrated, Blurr turned his attention to the computer itself. He knew the Autobot systems were kept separate from the human networks, but there _had_ to be something he could do to reach them. Blurr was hardly a hacker. Set a bomb, install a virus in an enemy system? Sure. Get a human’s little desktop computer to go where he needed it to and do what he wanted? Not so much. Worse, he was so busy being determined and furious to the point of tears, that he almost didn’t hear the car door slam outside.

Blurr rushed to shut off the computer, then to get to the floor. Falling was not what he intended, but at least the carpet was soft. He was still cursing it for making moving the chair impossible, but at least he had no new scuffs or dents for Kari to take note of. The Racer scrambled to the same place as yesterday, cycled his respiration in an effort to calm himself, and chirped, “Greetings,” as Kari entered.

The woman smiled instead of jumping this time, and after the bag was dropped in its customary place, Blurr was scooped up and hugged. He let himself relax into it, unashamed of soaking up the unanticipated offer of comfort. It wasn’t for him, he knew that, especially as Kari launched into a rant about her day. It was still nice though, and Blurr followed the woman with his gaze once he was set on the counter.

“I swear, I’m glad to be home today. Man, I wish it were Friday,” Kari said, almost angrily pulling vegetables from her fridge. “First the network crashes. Which, fine, and IT was on it, but it’s like _no one else_ grasps the concept that if you hassle the IT gal with a zillion phone calls for updates, she can’t get shit fixed for you. I ended up having to tell her to just ignore all calls unless they were from my desk. _Then_ I was halfway through typing up an interoffice email to tell people to be patient when it hit me.”

Blurr blinked as Kari gave him a flat look. “Kari, sweetie, darling, sugarlump, if the network’s down, no one’s gonna get your damn email.” The woman gave short, self-depreciating laugh. “So I got on the PA to announce that Mary was busy, jeezus, give her a few minutes, and that’s when we discovered that _part_ of the phone lines were down as well. Desk to desk extension calls? No problem.” A pot clanged loudly as it was practically thrown at the stove top, and Blurr flinched to the side before he could help it. Kari didn’t seem to notice as she crouched and pulled out a cutting board. “Anything else though, no dice.”

She leaned against the counter for a moment, then reached for a knife. “So that was fun. And really, I get it, ya know?” she said, looking back over at Blurr for a moment. “Tech fails. It sucks, but it happens. What absolutely _made_ my damn day though, were _all_ ~” Kari dragged out the word, “the people getting all bitchy about it. Not just my office staff, which really, with the way the sales department were acting, I don’t blame my crew for getting pissy with them, but _everyone_ \- just everyone was short-tempered and complaining, and since I told Mary not to answer her phone they started coming to me to bitch about that.”

An onion was chopped up a bit more aggressively than Blurr thought it deserved, but better the onion than him. Or the woman’s finger. Unsure what to do, but wanting to make the stressed out human relax a bit before she hurt herself, the Racer beeped softly.

Kari’s shoulders dropped down and a real smile was sent Blurr’s way. “Poor little robot. What’d you ever do to deserve having to listen to my venting?”

Blurr beeped again, and when Kari wiped off her hands and reached for him, he lifted his own arms. Hugs were good, and they both needed one anyway.

“You are so freakin’ cute.” Kari giggled as she cuddled Blurr against her shoulder. “Little robot hugs. I’m going to die from the adorable, you know?” She held Blurr out and smiled at him, then even wider before pulling him in to kiss his nose. “I know I need to get you home, but if I never found your owner, I’m not sure I’d feel too guilty.”

Blurr realized he was still smiling when Kari put him back on the countertop and patted his helm. He quickly blanked his expression, but maybe she would believe he had just been imitating her expression?

When bedtime came, Blurr got another snuggle and kiss to his nose before being placed back in the rocking chair for the night. He found himself smiling again as he settled in to recharge too. Primus, he was _not_ getting attached to a human.

~ | ~

Wednesday and Thursday could have been the same day for all the progress Blurr made. Kari left for work, Blurr tried to move the chair because he wasn’t willing to admit defeat, and then he would get on the computer. Kari would come home, Blurr would greet her, she would cuddle him -which was nice after a day of failing to reach his friends- then she would take him to the kitchen and cook.

Tonight some longs strips of meat were sizzling in a pan as Kari sliced a tomato and babbled about her day. The Racer frowned at the pan, and inched away. It reeked, and grease was beginning to pop and spatter. He had, unfortunately, been more concerned with Kari becoming suspicious of his behavior than getting out of range, and it was surprisingly painful when a drop of hot oil managed to shoot right between the vent slats on his thigh. Blurr cried out, hands going to his thigh even as he planted his other foot on the counter and tried to escape the pain.

“Oh shit!” Kari swept Blurr up and away, and then peeled his hands off his leg to look. “Poor thing. I didn’t know you had… wow.” She looked right into Blurr’s optics, and he did his best to look non-sentient. “That’s some complex programming to make you _feel_.”

Blurr stayed put as she set him beside the sink, then hurried to turn the heat on the burner down before digging for a cloth. He eyed the faucet and thought about being truly clean. It was time to show some of that complex programming.

When Kari reached out with the cloth, Blurr closed his hands over it and pulled. He figured it was only surprise that he was able to take the cloth and swing his feet into the sink before she reacted, but by then a look of curiosity covered her face and she didn’t stop him. Blurr dropped the cloth and used both hands to push the handle up. Water poured out fast and cold at first, but quickly warmed to something mostly tolerable.

“You’re waterproof?” Kari asked. She reached over and tested the water temperature before nudging it to be slightly hotter. “Hot water helps with grease.” She paused. “Well, assuming it’s not a burn-burn. Hm.”

Blurr preferred the heat because that would clean off the grime better even if it made his thigh sting a bit. He grabbed the bottle of blue liquid detergent, and Kari laughed as she took it from him. “Ok, hang on a second there.” The cloth was soaked, partly wrung out, then the soap was added and worked into a lather before being handed back to Blurr. “You scrub up, let me finish the bacon.” She washed off her hands, then turned off the tap, leaving Blurr to clean himself up.

The woman’s gaze stayed on Blurr, her fascination obvious as the bacon was taken from the pan and left to cool on a paper towel. The Racer wasn’t anywhere in the neighborhood of modest, but he was worried about not looking like a human-made toy robot. Still, the opportunity to get clean was one he couldn’t pass up, and he set about working the soapy fabric between armor plates and over the cables beneath. He could see the grime and grit as it swirled over the silver steel beneath his feet and down the drain. When Kari soaked a second cloth, Blurr didn’t protest her starting on his back despite her big hand keeping him from properly cleaning his abdominal vents.

Kari was thorough, and Blurr found himself relaxing into the soft circles her fingers scribed over his plating. “I really hope we don’t fritz something.”

He almost told her they wouldn’t, but settled instead for a soft purring. At least until she released him to rinse the cloths out. Blurr sat and scooted under the faucet, face turned up to the heated flow of water. It ran down under his plating, flushing away all the clinging grease and dirt from his adventures and the battle he’d been in before being mysteriously shrunk. Kari giggled at him, then laughed at the surprised beep when the faucet turned off and a sprayer was aimed at his neck. It had tickled, and Blurr couldn’t help cringing back.

At least he was keeping his vocalizations to nonverbal sounds for the most part. Biting out a startled curse would be a dead giveaway that he wasn’t a little toy after all. The woman continued to snicker at him as she picked him up with one hand and gave him a thorough rinsing with the other.

“You feel like real metal. Wonder if polishing you up like I do my stainless steel would be ok,” Kari said as she turned off the water.

Oh Primus. Clean _and_ polished? Blurr settled back into purring as he was held over the sink to drip while Kari reached for a clean kitchen towel. It was placed on the counter next to the sink, and then Blurr was stood on it.

“Ok. You drip dry while I nom my BLT, then I’ll dig out my hair dryer, the olive oil, and find that microfiber cloth I bought for my car and haven’t bothered to use on it yet.” Kari poked Blurr’s nose and smiled. “My car’s not as cute as you though.”

Blurr sat and used a corner of the towel to wipe away some of the water while the woman ate her meal a few feet away. Once she was done, her plate was put in the sink, and Blurr was carried –towel and all- to the wash room. The hair dryer was then set to high and aimed under his plating. Blurr laughed before he could stop himself, but Kari just laughed with him.

“I want to know how the heck you were made, Blurr.” Kari angled the dryer to blow into Blurr’s thigh vents and for a moment it tricked his sensors and felt like running. The Racer leaned back into the woman’s hand and relaxed.

Of course being blown dry had nothing on being draped over Kari’s lap on a fresh towel while she carefully buffed a thin layer of olive oil into his plating. She’d said something about stainless steel and elbow grease, but Blurr was a purring mass of sleepy, miniaturized mech and wasn’t listening. The microfiber cloth was soft, and the tiny circles created a pleasant warmth of friction, melting the stress and frustration away.

~ | ~

The days began to blend together. Kari worked five days in a row, then had two off. She commented on the lack of people contacting her about Blurr every few days, mentioned the nearby college, and wondered about his origins. If she was out, the Racer was on the computer. He carefully scoured public social sites for posts she might have made about him. There was only one he found, made to the college’s lost and found, and he quickly deleted it. The rest of his time was spend trying to reach out to the Autobots. He even made himself an email account and joined several social media sites.

Always careful of being caught or leaving a trail, Blurr quickly learned Kari’s schedule. She lived a fairly nondescript life and seemed most active and enthusiastic on the weekends. Blurr was left alone one weekend while she returned to her brother’s house, but he worried when she returned looking downcast and disappointed. The Racer soon learned that no one there had ‘lost’ him, and she just didn’t know how to get him home. Blurr was incredibly relieved, but curled into the hug and stayed snuggled against the woman when she fell asleep to a movie that night.

He was losing hope himself, until an idea slammed into him one night. Blurr was sorely tempted to crawl off Kari’s bed and go try it right then, but didn’t want to risk waking her. He stared hard at the ceiling and reminded himself that he’d endured a few weeks of this, another night wouldn’t kill him. As soon as Kari left for work, Blurr was on the computer. He typed in comm codes and tried to email a message. They all bounced back to him, and he threw himself down into the desk chair to have a really good long sulk.

Primus, he wanted to go _home_!

~ | ~

Kari’s chipper mood and usual chatter couldn’t cheer Blurr as another weekend rolled around. He found himself hard-pressed to play mindless robot for the woman, even as she sighed and asked, “Don’t suppose you can pay bills for me?”

Blurr probably could, he had seen her bank account number and password after all, but instead of replying, he blinked and gave her a blank stare.

Once the bills were paid, Kari began cleaning. She took Blurr with her at first, but then he began following her around, so she left him on the floor and chattered away. She seemed to enjoy talking to the Racer, even though it was just a simple list of tasks she wanted to complete. Blurr envied her easy happiness. He missed the same feeling in himself. In general, frustration and sadness weren’t default settings for the Racer. It wasn’t even that he was all that worried about his friends. He was just so _helpless_ while this tiny. A human could lift and carry him easily with one hand. He didn’t even stand as tall as her knee!

Pits, he might as well be the toy Kari thought he was.

“Blurr?” Kari said and crouched in front of him. “What’s going on in that computer, buddy?” Blurr was lifted and hugged. “You can laugh if tickled, but what could upset you?”

Well slag, the Racer thought.

“Chemicals getting to you?” the woman asked, then pulled Blurr out from her shoulder to smile at him. “Wanna have some fun?”

Fun turned out to be Kari taking him into the messy room with all the boxes and setting him down so she could dig into the pile. Swaths of fabric and various other items were collected in the small patch of floor that had been clear. Once the woman had all that she wanted, the fabric was gathered up around the other things, and it and Blurr were scooped up and hauled back to the front room.

Blurr watched, confused, as Kari draped fabric over the front of the sofa and the floor before it. A miniature tea set was placed in the middle and a teddy bear was stuck to one side. The Racer was then lifted and sat at an angle to the teddy bear. It was the woman lifting her camera that finally clued him into what was happening.

Fun. _This_ was fun?

Blurr blinked up at Kari with a flat look.

“What? Not into the tea party thing?” The woman chuckled, snapped a picture, then lifted Blurr free of the little set. “Ok. You pick a prop then. Go on,” Kari added when all the Racer did was stare up at her.

Blurr walked over to the pile of strange objects and frowned at them. More out of curiosity than desire to be photographed with it, he picked up a geode with purple crystals in it.

“The rock? All that, and you pick the rock?” Kari shook her head. “Alright then. Come here.”

The Racer turned back as the fabric was switched out to a plain white, then walked to the middle and sat back down. He didn’t understand this, but Kari giggled at him, posed him, and took a few pictures.

“You’re so cute. I swear once I get you to your owner, I’m going to post all of these and drive people crazy with how freakin’ adorable you are.” Kari took away the rock, leaned to the side, and returned with a bunch of stuffed toys. They were piled around Blurr while she grinned and snickered, then took more pictures.

“Oh, come on, Blurr,” Kari said with a laugh. “You look like this is torture.” It wasn’t _that_ bad, but the Racer wasn’t going to tell her that. “Ok then.” All the toys were pulled away, and the woman gestured at Blurr to stand. “Pose for me.”

Pose? See _that_ Blurr could do. He stood, cast the woman his most commercial smile from his days on the tracks, planted his hands on his hips, and waited for the flash.

For a moment Kari just stared, then she burst out laughing. “You little ham!” She took a picture, then moved to the side a little. Blurr turned his helm just a little and tipped his chin down. “Work it, baby. Love the camera,” Kari laughed. “It loves you. I love you. _Every_ one loves you, dahling!”

Blurr smirked to suppress a laugh, and shifted his pose. The flash went off multiple times, Kari moving around in front of him. He looked up at her, then haughtily down when she put the camera on the floor and angled the lens up. He hadn’t tried, but suddenly the idea struck, and Blurr transformed.

“Holy shit!”

Blurr froze, thoughts echoing the woman’s words. He probably shouldn’t have done that.

For a moment Kari just stared, then she squealed, a high note that rang off the ceiling and echoed in Blurr’s audials. “That is _so **cool**_! Oh my god! Oh man, where are you from? I’d be heartbroken if I lost you!” Not that any of her exclamations stopped the woman from snapping off more pictures. Blurr let her take a few, then transformed back. He went right back to posing more, hoping she would assume this was just part of his ‘programming’, and that seemed to work.

When Kari was done, she uploaded the pictures to her computer, but didn’t post any online. Blurr watched from his spot on her desk, and itched to try and reach the Autobots again. He had ended up having some fun, and some of those photographs were pretty good. It was nice to see that while he’d shrunk, his looks hadn’t actually been changed. Plus, now he knew he _could_ still transform. How that thought had taken over three weeks to manifest, he wasn’t sure. He knew he wasn’t going to admit it to anyone else though.

Once Kari was asleep later that night, Blurr snuck away. He couldn’t wait for Monday and her absence from the house. There was one other thing he could try, and he just hoped to the Pits he was remembering the account name correctly. Hound was endlessly curious about Earth, and Blurr _thought_ he remembered the mech talking about some wildlife blog he had started.

When the Racer found it, or at least the one he thought was it, he created an account with the site, then sent the blog owner a private message. Blurr’s attempts to be cryptic were pathetic by his own estimations, but if this was Hound’s, then a note from ‘Number1Racer’ about the amazing wildlife in San Bernardino and how he should really check it out _should_ get some attention. Just to be certain, though, Blurr tried to email messages to the different comm codes he knew again. They bounced back, and he trudged back to Kari’s bed to snuggle in against her shoulder in disappointment.

~ | ~

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday all came and went, and though Blurr refreshed his email until the last possible minute, there was still no response from the blog he had thought was Hound’s. He barely got the computer turned off and made it to his customary spot to greet Kari when the door cracked open, but then froze as he heard the woman’s voice.

“Good timing, though how the heck did you find me?”

Blurr’s knees went weak as he heard the other person reply. “I’m pretty desperate to have him back,” Ratchet said. “He’s the culmination of years of work and research, and I’m sorry, but I was a bit unethical in tracking you down. I was afraid if I just emailed, you’d claim… I don’t know.”

Blurr beeped and ran to the door. “Greetings!” he cried, and pried at the door with fingers too small to pull it open more than the crack Kari had allowed.

Kari looked down, and smiled sadly at the Racer. “Wow. Guess that answers that question.” The door was opened wide enough for the woman to enter, and for the hardlight hologram Ratchet to step forward and squat down.

Blurr trilled and hurried forward as Ratchet held out his hands. “Yeah, I missed you too, ya glitch,” Ratchet said as he lifted the Racer. “He looks great. There was no damage when you found him?”

Kari shook her head, and when she reached toward Blurr, the Racer reached back and grasped one of her fingers. “He was grubby, but then I discovered he was waterproof.” Eyes gone a bit liquid shifted to Ratchet’s face. “Seriously, he’s just amazing. If you ever make more to sell or something, please look me up. It’s been a lot of fun having him around these last few weeks.”

“I will,” Ratchet said, and then tucked Blurr under his arm and pulled a wallet out. “I didn’t offer a reward in any of my posts, but only because I didn’t want anyone wasting my time with false claims.”

“Oh! No. No, no.” Kari stepped back and shook her head. “I had so much fun, that’d be like stealing.”

Ratchet glanced down at Blurr, and then took what looked like a human cell phone from his pocket. “What’s your number?” he asked. “If I get my funding, you’ll be my first call.”

Kari rattled off her phone number, then bit her lip as she gave Blurr’s helm one last stroke. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

Ratchet smiled, wide and genuine, fingers tapping out a quick text. “There. Now you have my number. If you’re ever in a bind, get in touch. I’ll help you if I can.” He held out his hand to the woman. “Thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am.”

Kari shrugged, then shook Ratchet’s hand. “No problem, uh…”

“John Ratchet,” Ratchet said, and Blurr bit back a snicker.

“John. Good luck.”

The door closed, and Blurr frowned a little at the abruptness, but Ratchet turned and walked down to where Bumblebee waited in his alt mode in the street. “How the frag did this happen?” the medic asked.

“I don’t know,” Blurr replied, and peeked back at the house as he was placed in Bumblebee. He saw Kari in the window, but then the door shut, and he couldn’t see without standing.

Ratchet’s holo got in behind the wheel, and they drove off. “Well, we’ll get you sorted. Hurting anywhere?”

“No,” Blurr said, then settled in for the long drive to New Mexico. He hadn’t expected to feel bad about leaving Kari, but he did, his spark aching as his mind locked on the image of her wiping her face as she watched him leave.

~ | ~

Kari looked around the living room and sighed. It’d been two weeks and her home still felt empty without Blurr there. Coming home wasn’t nearly as exciting, knowing that she wasn’t going to get a chipper little, “Greetings.”

“Get a grip, girl.” Kari stepped outside and turned to lock her door. Just as she got her key free, her phone chimed. She had to scramble through her bag to reach it, and frowned to see a notification from her bank. “The hell?” But then the message opened, and Kari’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit…?”

A horn beeped, and Kari spun around, heart pounding in her chest. As if the sudden appearance of all six of those zeros _after_ her new balance wasn’t shocking enough, there on the street was parked a sleek, blue sports car. She wasn’t much of a car type, but there was no way the woman wouldn’t recognize _this_ car.

“Oh gods!”

The car rocked back on its- _Blurr_ rocked back on his tires, then beeped again before driving off. Kari was left staring after bright tail lights long after they’d rounded the corner.

“No way. Oh my god, no way,” she muttered, and somehow stumbled to her car. It took another minute of just sitting before her brain kicked into gear, and Kari didn’t even care that she was going to be late for work. A giddy laugh bubbled up, and she opened the text app on her phone.

**Hi, John, Kari here. Thought you’d like some of the pics I took of our little friend while he stayed with me.**

She then picked the one with Blurr buried in stuffed animals and hit send. The brat. The absolute brat. He’d pretended to be nothing the whole time. Kari was going to kick his tires if she ever got the chance, then beg for a ride, because holy cow! She’d had a damn alien in her house! How cool was that?


End file.
